October 20, 2013 - Oktoberfest 5K
There are both 5K and 10K options for this race and I would normally choose the longer distance when given those options, but since the Oktoberfest 5K was my very first race ever back in 2006, I always run the 5K at this one.

This race went relatively well... the end result was good (a new PR), but the race itself didn't go that well. I went out too fast and had an absolutely miserable 4th km. Luckily, I was able to pick it up a bit again in the final km and finish in a chip time of 22:22.

December 7, 2013 - Santa Pur-Suit 5K This was the 2nd annual Santa Pur-Suit, which was a fun event where my mom, sister, niece, and nephew also took part. All participants must wear the entire suit of pants, jacket, belt, beard, and hat. In looking at the photos, I was one of the few who kept their beard on properly for the duration of the race. Actually, my whole family did, so I guess we were raised to play by the rules!

This race went pretty well for me. I went out too fast again (or... I didn't keep up that pace like I should have... I will try to work on that) and slowed a bit later on, but finished in a time of 22:40 (chip 22:36), which was my second fastest 5K and was good enough for 4th place woman overall and a default 1st in my category (2 out of the top 3 female were also 30-34).

Other Running: This past Sunday was the annual Run to St Jacobs, which is organized by Runners' Choice in Waterloo. It snowed a lot from Friday right up to Sunday morning, and the roads were not cleared well, so it was more difficult terrain than usual. I was running the 19K route (which turned out to be just about 20K) after running 4km from my house to the store. Let me tell you, it felt more like 34km than it did 24km. The run was completed at Stone Crock in St Jacobs, where we had a well deserved buffet brunch. It was a great morning with lots of good running friends.